Right from the beginning, I notice that I'm not a lovecraft guru, and even horror games are not just my cup of coffee. No Call of Cthulhu surprised me very much. You do not have to worry about any stupid jump scare elements and you do not even have to worry about being a complete newcomer in terms of the universe. I personally enjoyed the two-hour demo and I consider it one of the most impressive experiences of this year's Gamescom.
The story of this game is very strong and the authors have admitted to us that it was one of the first things that had been done for the game. Focus Interactive is a studio based in France, and we also praised the fact that many people have told them that their story is just acting as a quality French film. So do not expect any Hollywood star. From the very beginning, the game will bring you very well, will give you a lot of information either in dialogues or through various notebooks and notes. Give to play with extraterrestrial forces and also solve things like God, faith and the future of humanity itself. Everything is deliberately hidden in the case of a strange murder, and in the game, moments are waiting for you so bizarre and inexplicable that the mental health of your character will be subject to heavy testing.
The game begins with a horror break in a mysterious country. They teach basic control and, for example, that light is important. After a while we find that it was only a dream and we wake up in a quiet workroom. We get to the shoes of former soldier Eduard Pierce, who has been a private detective for many years now. From various hints of the environment, we find that the character has problems with alcohol, and he spends hours and nights in his workplace under his influence. So now we face the decision to drink from the whiskey glass on the table, or to resist the desire and leave a clean head. The authors accentuate the fact that the game is full of similar small decisions that can have unintended consequences.
At the time we played this demo, it was still far away evening, and so we decided to leave a cup of alcohol in the room. He followed a phone call from a personal physician who is a company from the employer and he has lost our data. Here the game allows you to customize the attributes of your character. You will find classics such as strength and intelligence as well as less standard things like medicine, elegance and investigative skills. As we found out later, everything has a significant impact on gameplay and opens up new possibilities. It already adds favorably to the redeemability of the title. An overview of the health condition is obviously important to the employer, and in the phone we hear criticism about our person and that we have already been given room to drink and solve more cases.
When you make a phone call, but also after reviewing the work and reading of different links, we still hear the voice of your character. She has a very good dubbing. Together with great mysterious music, it creates a perfect atmosphere. Everything is tuned to the visual style. Focus Interactive games may not look up-to-date, nor do they use the latest technology, but they have their own specific style and are being refined to the very last detail. At the same time, it's clear that developers with the tools used are well-matched, so you have a well-tuned feel, no bugs and power failures. This is especially important in such a game as your experience is enhanced by how you live with it. So you do not want to get some technical problems from it. After a short while, someone knocks on the door, the dust rises in the room, and the shining rays of the sun only increase the surprise effect. Who might be that?
I do not want to tell you the contents of the entire dialogue, but basically your visitor asks for a mysterious case. It concerns the Hawkin family who lived in the remote fishing area and was suspected of being murdered. Especially interesting is the death of a woman named Sarah, who used to paint special paintings. Dialogue options are varied and it's up to you how much time you spend during a conversation. Then examine the evidence provided and the facts. You try to put the whole thing together, but to solve the case, you will need to see the crime scene close.
You get a few hypotheses, but then you have nothing else to do than pack your stuff, look at the map where you really go and leave the office convenience. Your hero decides to accept the case because of the need for money and work but also for personal curiosity. Here ends the first chapter of the game where the game is divided and the lines follow in a straight line. However, you can choose different decisions in each chapter and eventually reach one of the four conclusions.
The area in which your character traveled is called Darkwater, and the times of its glory have long since passed. Since a while, the whales have ceased to exist in the adjacent waters and we find this grim town full of strange people. Your goal is to find a storehouse to hide the key to the case. The city itself is not big, but it offers many objects you can explore and the characters you contemplate. In addition, for example, in one of our homes, we found a medical book whose reading increased our medical level. The game is rewarded for a thorough review of the environment.
We will soon find one of the homes where the store is located. From talking to people and maybe because of the habit of other games we would expect it to be somewhere in the wider area. In fact, it is only a few meters away from us. We discussed this with the authors, and they told us that the game environment is deliberately not wide and empty, but rather smaller and full of all sorts of things. They do not want you to walk around for a long minute, trying to find something. On the contrary, the answer always lies beneath your nose, except you have to know where to look.
When playing Call of Cthulhu you should definitely not hurry. The game encourages you to play with patience and think every step. The entrance to the warehouse was blocked by a pair of hide-and-seekers who did not want to let us down at no cost. Everywhere there was a lot of details, possibilities in dialogues and from the town itself we felt it had its own story. I do not want to tell you everything, because it is best if you experience it on your own skin and make your own picture of what life is doing.
A minimum of 4 different variants were offered for warehousing, and I followed the procedure of other journalists with the eye. You could have tried to slam the guard, threaten to pull them off with the help of local drunkards. But you had to bribe them with a bottle from the local bar. However, the bartender, of course, is not willing to sell alcohol to foreigners and you should first get his trust. You will also learn about the underground tunnels connecting the buildings in the city.
I would be curious about all possible ways to get to the goal, but when I was playing I decided to find the underground corridor. But as I found out, it was my great luck that I had invested some points in the power of my character at the beginning of the game. Only thanks to this I managed to lift the hatch of one of the tunnels. The gameplay is really very varied, and every detail, even if the dialog option you choose, can close some paths while others make it available.
So we got in and on the road, we have experienced various events that are inexplicable at this stage of the game. A mysterious bloody scene was waiting for us inside the warehouse, and here was the evidence mechanics for the first time. Then you switch to a special mode in which you discover individual small details and try to make a storyline in your head. You are watching the prone figures of the members of the murdered family, who are gradually changing their position as you discover the evidence and explore the surroundings. You are witnesses of the reconstruction of the scene that has taken place here and it has to fit somehow in the whole case.
Suddenly, a group of cops with a commissioner at the head comes in. We have met this before and before, but we were not willing to help yet. But we did not leave it so easy, and we even found interesting evidence. Strange is mainly the painting from the home of the murdered family and no one knows how to get here. The Commissioner then decides to cooperate with us in the investigation and goes to the mysterious villa - the former residence of Sarah, her husband and son.
We're getting to the last chapter of the demo. Again, there is a lot of evidence, dialogues and especially a mysterious house. He's hiding a lot of secrets and just waiting for him to explore. On the way, we will also find a valet who stayed here despite the death of the lords of the house. The story is getting more and more tangled up, we find other horror pictures and explore the rooms of the former inhabitants.
Call of Cthulhu has left us a lot of questioners and his atmosphere has overtaken us. We would calmly spend more hours playing this game and letting go of a dense story. In addition, while playing, you really need to engage the brain and respond properly, and note every little thing to move forward. Hopefully, the author and the other chapters have gone so far. For such titles, you may be stuck at some point and will not want to continue. We have really enjoyed the past, and if you are a lovecraft fan, the experience will be even better. It looks like Focus has another strong storyline in its arsenal, and we're expecting it on October 30th.
